She woke up as usual, earlier than the rest of her family, even though she was also the last one to go to sleep. She yawned as she stood up from her bed, blocking the light that entered the room through the curtains with her hands. She grabbed the sweater she usually put on when it was cold from her closet, as well as tying her blonde hair up in a tail.
Ino walked for the door of her house, to check if any letters had been received that day. She found a handful of letters, more than usual. As she picked them up one by one, she examined who they were from and if there was any special inscription on them.
It was then when she noticed one that lacked the envelope, and was just a folded paper with something written on it. She dropped the rest of the letters next to her to check that one right then and there. The handwriting was unusual, but still understandable for her.
As she read the content of it, her eyes snapped open. And when ending it, she covered her mouth with her hand.
"It can't be." She said to herself.
'Uh, so, I might have left the village. Yeah, sorry about that. But I will come back as soon as I can! It's just that the village is chasing this guy, and to protect him I need to leave for some time.
Tell the rest I am sorry, but please stay safe! I don't want you to be hurt or something.
Oh, and tell Konohamaru that I won't be able to continue his training, so I'm sorry again.'
With a single punch, the wooden table of the room was destroyed. Two very elderly people were sitting at the right side of it, and they were taken off guard by the hit, jumping slightly out of surprise. On the left side, an old man with half of his head bandaged was also sitting, though he was not at all surprised by the destruction of the table.
"Fuck!" Yelled the Fifth after breaking the table. Then, she sighed and tried to compose herself.
"I told Hiruzen from the beginning that this boy was dangerous." Said the old man, as he put his only visible arm over his only visible eye. "That man was too stubborn for this village's good!"
"That is true, Danzo..." Admitted the elder woman, as she shook her head. "But now we have to do something about this... We have enough information on his real strength now."
Tsunade grabbed her head with her two hands. Her head was hurting, and her muscles were tense.
"I am especially afraid of the resources this might cost us," added the elder man sitting next to the old woman. "We agreed with Hiruzen that the boy had to be kept in the village at all costs. Exposing him to Orochimaru so early was a mistake."
The blonde woman clenched her fists and finally opened her eyes. That fierce Senju stare was thrown upon the elders for the first time in years, even though it soon weakened.
"Are you suggesting that Orochimaru influenced him?" Asked the Hokage, as she put the traditional hat on, covering her face with it.
"Must have." Replied Danzo. "This boy claimed to know nothing of this world, and to come from some unknown place. He either got amnesia, most probably, or was being honest. And then, why else would he leave this village for a completely unknown world?"
"Orochimaru is dead, and that boy killed him." Tsunade responded.
Shimura shook his head. "And? Was Madara not dead when the Uchiha revolted?"
"We must decide what our next actions on the subject will be." Interrupted the elderly woman. "Try and capture the boy, or let him go."
The Hokage dived into her thoughts. She was told to trust the boy over and over again, and when she finally decided to do so, she is betrayed. Now she had to make a decision that could cost her village resources they probably should not waste in a mere boy. But what potential danger could that kid possibly have in the near future? So many variables she did not control.
"It seems clear to me that, like with Sasuke Uchiha, he must be included in the Bingo Book," Danzo lowered his only visible arm, and turned to look directly at the Hokage, "with top priority."
The elderly pair remained silent for half a minute. Until they finally nodded in agreement, that is. The three elders moved their sights towards the Fifth, who remained silent and thoughtful.
Tsunade bit her lip before speaking. "I do not think I have much of an alternative."
Danzo smirked behind the hand he placed over his face. "Good decision."
"The issue I find is," the Fifth continued, "who of our shinobi is supposed to kill that kid?"
"Someone who defeated Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin..." The elderly woman muttered.
"More than you would think," Shimura replied. "And if it comes to it, then the two remaining Sannin will have to take him down."
The Hokage sighed, and then stood up. She turned around, aiming to exit the room. But before opening the door, she decided to say one more thing.
"If it comes to it... I hope we really are able to stand up to him." She briefly remembered her short confrontation against Orochimaru, alongside Jiraiya, before her return to the village. Maybe it was time to get back in form.
"Gohan left?!" Konohamaru yelled as his eyes widened. "That can't possibly be true!"
Ino was standing in the middle of a group of people, in one of the many training camps of the village. The day was sunny, and such they were sitting under the trees, where the shadow could block its intense light.
Next to her, Shikamaru was sitting in complete silence, and so he had been for the past fifteen minutes. On the opposite side, Naruto was sitting, with an unusually somber expression.
In front of the three, anothe trio was sitting. Konohamaru and his friends had been called by the blonde kunoichi, as there was something seemingly important she wanted to tell them. Neither of them could have predicted that the important news were about Gohan leaving the village.
"What will happen with my training?! What will I do now?" The young Sarutobi complained.
"Well, you can still train by yourself or with us, can't you?" Udon suggested. However, he only achieved a hit on the head from the kid of the blue scarf.
Konohamaru grunted. "It won't be the same! With Gohan I was training in the hardest and best methods! I was definitely going to become the best shinobi ever at that pace!"
"But why did he leave? Who was that guy he mentioned?" Moegi ignored her two friends and asked the blonde kunoichi directly.
"We have no idea, we are just as surprised as you are." Replied Yamanaka, lowering her head.
"And the news don't end there." Said a deep voice that arrived from behind the group.
Konohamaru and his friends turned around, while the other three just raised their heads to see who had spoken. It was a jounin, as he was wearing the traditional uniform. One with a thick beard. He smoked one last time from the cigarette he was holding before throwing it away.
"We have all been notified that Gohan has been included in the Bingo Book along with Sasuke, in the most recent update." Asuma explained.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Sasuke and Gohan?! Why?"
"Because they're traitors!" Shikamaru finally yelled. He stood up as he spoke, being unable to contain himself any longer. "Sasuke decided to betray the village by joining that creep Orochimaru, and Gohan abandons it because of some random dude none of us know!"
Everyone turned to look at the boy of the ponytail. The jounin being specially worried about his student.
"I can't believe we lost Chouji for them... He deserved to live more than them!" Tears started to build up on his eyes. "Now they have to face the consequences of their stupidity."
Ino swiftly stood up and slapped him on the face, catching him by surprise. "Shut up, now."
"Ah... I keep forgetting you weren't there!" Shikamaru giggled softly as his tears started streaming down his face. "He could fucking kill one of the Sannin, but not save our friend! Can you believe it, Ino?! Because I surely cannot."
"Gohan is our friend, too!" Replied the blonde girl while pointing at her teammate menacingly.
"What a good friend, huh, abandoning us for a random guy!" Nara yelled back. "Is that what a friend does, in your opinion? Come on!"
Asuma placed his hand over the boy's shoulders. Shikamaru turned around to find his mentor, and felt an unusual sensation of shame. The older Sarutobi shook his head.
"You have the right to be angry and disappointed, I won't deny you that," said the jounin. "But it might be better for you to calm down and take a rest. These past days have been too much for kids like you."
The boy of the ponytail wiped his tears while nodding. Then, he put his hands inside his pockets, and glanced back at his teammate. She was noticeably unhappy, but he limited himself to lowering his head and walking away without saying anything else.
"For now, we should be going to our homes. Konohamaru, you come with me, of course." Asuma gave them a thumbs up as the group began leaving.
It took them less than 5 minutes, and soon the two Sarutobi clan members were left alone in the training camp. The one of the beard sighed, before grabbing another cigarette and igniting it. The kid glanced upwards to see his face.
"Do you think he will really come back, uncle?"
"I do." Replied the jounin as he sensed something unusual.
Asuma swiftly turned around, and saw a strange silhouette approaching. He grabbed the kid by the arm and pulled him closer, so it was easier for the jounin to protect him. As the stranger finally moved out of the shadows of the trees, his identity became more identifiable.
White fur, a black shinobi suit and the iconic kimono shirt with fur trimmings. The eldest Sarutobi alive could not help but have a certain nostalgic feeling when he finally recognized who was approaching them.
Enma, King of the Monkeys.
"Asuma."
"Enma."
"Long time no see, boy." Said the ruler of his kind as he bowed, receiving a similar gesture from the bearded Sarutobi.
"What brings you here?" Curiously asked the jounin.
"The dying wish of your father," Enma explained. "Hiruzen wanted Konohamaru to be trained and given the contract when he turned 13."
"Um... but I'm just 10, Mr. Monkey!" Interrupted the little boy, causing a gentle smile from the monarch, as well as a soft laugh from the jounin.
Enma nodded. "But the council has determined it would be more appropriate to begin your training soon, so you are ready to sign the contract by the time you are 13, young one."
"Ah... So you have a council too?" Asuma rhetorically asked, getting a nod from the white-haired monkey anyways. "If that's the decision, I think we can make some arrangements for his graduation, which is supposed to be soon regardless. I know I can trust you to take good care of him, Enma."
"I appreciate your trust, young Asuma." Said the monarch. "And as you may know, travelling from our kingdom to this land is quite complicated without a summon or a reverse summon. And since your father was the last one to have a contract with us, I am afraid another travel would be quite difficult. So I have come to pick young Konohamaru today, preferably."
"Oh, well, I have no problem, I guess." Konohamaru put his arms behind his head. "I just lost my previous master for a while so, I'm available!" He smirked.
"Good to know you're enthusiastic!" Asuma laughed. "And if it's necessary, then I'll have to make the arrangements without you. Only thing is that until you come back, you won't be able to get your headband! Don't worry though, I'll save it."
Over the skies, a bright white light was shining as if a meteor was visible in the day. A certain saiyan was holding a white-haired boy with his two hands, while he flew rapidly above the Land of Fire.
"Are you sure it was in this direction?" Asked the boy of the spiky, black hair.
"Just give it a moment. The world is bigger than you thought!"
And with perfect timing, the sight of what seemed to be infinite forest and regular grasslands every once in a while, finally changed. Unusual plains with grass as tall as trees impressed the saiyan, who had never seen something like that back at his home dimension.
"And there you go. The Land of Grass!" Announced Kimimaro, doing his best to hold tight to Gohan's arms.
And so, ends Part 1!
Quite a journey it has been, but happy to have gone so far, and thankful for the support!
Well as I said last chapter, I will probably take some time from this story until I begin posting Part 2. However this doesn't mean I won't be writing it and/or working on it. In fact, I've worked on Part 2 ever since I was posting the Chunin Exams! So of course I've also been working on it recently and will continue to do so. But it shouldn't be too long until I figure my schedule, bc the time off will mainly be me working on some other ideas i've had.
Regarding the story itself, I'd also like to say there will be a time skip of 3 years in between parts, similar to actual Naruto. But don't worry, stuff will happen in those 3 years, and I've got all written down, just will be filled as the story progresses. I also decided to skip over it rather than normally writing because I wanted to get on with what I'll make Part 2 about, so I hope you understand!
With that said, thank you all so much and see you later with the rest of the story!